Minnesota state officials said that they are "confident that electronic pulltabs in bars and restaurants could generate $72 million annually -- enough to fund the state's share of a proposed" Vikings stadium. In Minneapolis, Kaszuba & Olson note a legislative stadium working group has "tentatively endorsed using electronic pulltabs as a way to provide $340 million toward the state's share of a stadium, projected to cost at least $900 million." Meanwhile, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman yesterday met with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton to "complain that a Minneapolis proposal to locally fund a new stadium, which includes money to renovate Minneapolis' Target Center, would financially harm the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/1).
KEEPING SCORE: The GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE reports the Packers have "removed the scoreboards from Lambeau Field and are preparing them for recycling." Mitsubishi Diamond Vision video boards will "replace the scoreboards." The new video screens, 108 feet wide and 48 feet high, will be "about the size of the scoreboards that were removed," and they will be "in place for the 2012 season" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 2/1).
PR PROBLEM: In Edmonton, Nicki Thomas reports Oilers Owner Daryl Katz may have a $920M (all figures Canadian) “public relations problem on his hands,” after he “sold a chunk of his pharmacy business for that much Monday.” The sale “earned him online accolades from some for being ‘a shrewd businessman,’ but raised the question for others: ‘why are we paying’ for the downtown arena?” Thomas writes the “general social media sentiment appears to be that Katz has more than enough to cover, if not the entire $450-million downtown arena, at least the $100-million funding gap” (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 2/1).
